Various apparatuses have been proposed for dispensing hay from a rolled bale. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,908,846; 4,113,116; and 4,687,402, disclose the conventional rolled hay bale dispenser wherein the round bale is held between a pair of laterally adjustable arms connected to the trailer hitch of a tractor. As the bale is held by the arms and towed by the tractor, the bale rolls on the ground and the hay is unwound therefrom and dispensed to the ground in sheet layers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,779,208 and 4,632,619 disclose round hay bale dispensers wherein a roller or wheel is connected to a vehicle which pushes the round hay bale. The roller or wheel engaging the peripheral surface of the round hay bale causes the hay to be dispensed therefrom onto the ground in layers.
It has been found that when the hay is dispensed from the round bale and is deposited on the ground in layers, much of the hay is wasted due to the fact that the livestock only eats a portion of the layer of hay.
After considerable research and experimentation, the round hay bale dispenser of the present invention has been constructed and arranged to dispense the hay therefrom in the form of chunks rather than sheet layers, whereby the livestock find the hay more palatable, resulting in less wastage.